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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005/02/22 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular CITY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS CITY COUNCIL MEETING PARK ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA FEBRUARY 22,2005 1. Call to Order Mayor Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, John Basill, Phil Finkelstein, Paul Omodt, Susan Sanger and Sue Santa Councilmember Sally Velick was absent. Staff present: City Manager(Mr. Harmening), City Attorney (Mr. Scott), City Clerk (Ms. Reichert), City Engineer (Ms. Hagen), Community Development Director (Mr. Locke), Fire Captain (Mr Windschitl), Housing Program Coordinator(Ms. Larsen) and Recording Secretary (Ms. Stegora-Peterson). Mayor Jacobs observed a moment of silence in honor of David Dey, a St. Louis Park Police Officer who was killed in Iraq while serving on active duty, and for all Minnesotans killed in the line of duty 2. Presentations a. Peggy Leppik, Met Council —Brookside ERF Grant Award Peggy Leppik and Gail Dorfman, Hennepin County Commissioner presented a tax based revitalization grant award certificate to the City of St. Louis Park for remediating contaminated soil and asbestos abatement at the Brookside Lofts b. Award to Sonny Klein Foundation —Defibrillator Captain Windschitl presented a history of the Sonny Klein Foundation and showed a story from WCCO news. Since 1999 the Sonny Klein Foundation, with assistance from local unions and others, had donated six defibnllators. Mayor Jacobs thanked the Klein Family for their contributions. Mrs Klein presented checks on behalf of the Sonny Klein Memorial Fund and the St. Louis Park Fire Department Union to the City of St Louis Park for the sixth defibrillator, in City Hall c. Day One Food Drive Claire Stringer, Lisa Hanson and Megan Freestad, Day One Food Drive Committee, invited participation in the Food Drive to be held February 28th through March 4`h Drop-off of nonperishable items and cash donations can be done at the St. Louis Park High School District Office, Steve's Amoco at Excelsior and Grand and at City Hall. Their goal was to raise 12,000 pounds of food. d. Resolution No. 05-034 Recognizing Departing Employee—Gary Willey Mayor Jacobs read a Resolution recognizing Gary Willey who was unable to attend. e. Resolution No. 05-035 Recognizing Departing Employee—Cheryl Engelman Mayor Jacobs presented a resolution to Cheryl Engelman Council Meeting Minutes -2- February 22, 2005 f. Proclamation for Millie Johnson Mayor Jacobs read a Proclamation honoring the life of Millie Johnson 3. Approval of Minutes 3a. City Council Minutes of February 7, 2005 Councilmember Finkelstein inserted "from ten years ago" on page two (item 3c.) after "previous planning". The minutes were approved as corrected 4. Approval of Agenda and Items on Consent Calendar NOTE The Consent Calendar lists those items of business which are considered to be routine and/or which need no discussion Consent items are acted upon by one motion If discussion is desired by either a Councilmember or a member of the audience,that item may be moved to an appropriate section of the regular agenda for discussion 4a. Approve 2nd reading of Ordinance No. 2289-05 amending Chapter 32. Utilities to add language clarifying responsibility for cost of repair and installation of sewer lines, approve the summary and authorize summary publication 4b. Moved to regular agenda item 8c 4c. Adopt Resolution No. 05-032 approving St. Louis Park Lions Club's application for the placement of 16 temporary signs in the public right-of-way. 4d. Approve second reading of Ordinance No. 2290-05 amending chapter 34 of the St. Louis Park municipal code allowing residents 40 days after notification to remove a diseased tree, approve the summary, and authorize publication of the summary. 4e. Designate Rainbow Tree Care, Inc. as the lowest responsible bidder and to authorize execution of a contract for the 2005 Arbotect 20-S Elm injection program at a cost of$11.65 per diameter inch. 4f. Designate North Star Tree Care, Inc. as the lowest responsible bidder and authorize execution of a contract for the 2005 private diseased tree removal program in an amount not to exceed $447,760 4g. Designate B.J. Haines Tree Service as the lowest responsible bidder and authorize execution of a contract for the 2005 Boulevard Tree and Stump Removal Program in an amount not to exceed $182,070 66 4h. Removed 4i. Adopt Resolution No. 05-033 approving six month extension of Time Warner Cable TV Franchise Agreement 4j. Accept Planning Commission minutes of January 5, 2005 for filing 4k. Accept Housing Authority minutes of January 12, 2005 for filing 41. Adopt Resolution No. 05-034 recognizing Gary Willey for 35 years of service 4m. Adopt Resolution No. 05-035 recognizing Cheryl Engelman for 30 years of service Councilmember Basill requested removing item 4b. from the consent agenda and placed it on the regular agenda as item 8c. It was motioned by Councilmember Basill, seconded by Councilmember Santa, to approve the Agenda and items listed on the Consent Calendar. Council Meeting Minutes -3- February 22, 2005 The motion passed 6-0. 5. Boards and Commission a. Appointments to Board of Zoning Appeals It was motioned by Councilmember Omodt, seconded by Councilmember Finkelstein, to appoint Henry Solmer to the Board of Zoning Appeals The motion passed 5-0-1, with Councilmember Sanger abstaining. b. Appointment to Human Rights Commission It was motioned by Councilmember Omodt, seconded by Councilmember Finkelstein, to appoint Karma Bulman and Jason Hutchison as adult members, and Anna Decker youth member to the Human Rights Commission. The motion passed 6-0. c. Other Appointments It was motioned by Councilmember Omodt, seconded by Councilmember Finkelstein, to appoint Kim Aune to the Police Advisory Commission. The motion passed 6-0. 6. Public Hearings 6a. Public Hearing to Consider Allocation of 2005 Community Development Block Grant Funds Ms. Larsen presented the staff report. Mayor Jacobs opened the public heanng. No speakers present. The public hearing was closed. It was motioned by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Santa to adopt Resolution No. 05-026 approving proposed use of funds for 2005 Urban Hennepin County Community Development Block Grant funds, reallocation of 2004 funds, and authorizing execution of Subrecipient Agreement with Hennepin County and any related Third Party Agreements The motion passed 6-0 6b. Proposed Amendments to the City Home Rule Charter Ms. Reichert presented the proposed amendments. Mr. Bubul, Kennedy & Graven, discussed the section relating to bonds and State law requirements to issue bonds. St. Louis Park City Charter provides an exception that bonds can be issued without election, with the exception that they have to be approved by six Council Meeting Minutes -4- February 22, 2005 votes of the Council The commission's recommendation was to revise the Charter to clarify that the council would have all powers for bond issuance under State law with the number of votes required by state law, and that other types of bonds (not authorized by statute) would require six votes. Other changes were for internal consistency and to conform with State law. Councilmember Sanger commented that she was on the Charter Commission for eight years and knew this was an arduous and detailed process and thanked the Charter Commission for their recommendations. Mayor Jacobs agreed that it was a painstaking process to determine how they wanted the city to operate and the powers they wanted certain people to have. Ms. Reichert concluded her presentation. Mayor Jacobs opened the public hearing. No speakers present. The public hearing was closed Councilmember Finkelstein recalled a discussion in study session relating to the section dealing with bonds and debt limit (pg. 17) and if there was a difference replacing the word securities with obligations? Mr. Bubul replied the term security had relevance in securities law, whereas the term obligation was the general term used under Minnesota law to describe any promise of a city to pay someone else. It was synonymous with the word bond and was the only place that it showed in the Charter. His recommendation was to be consistent in terminology. Councilmember Finkelstein asked if the term obligation was broader? Mr. Bubul replied in a sense it was. There may be things that are securities under Federal law that were not bonds. He recommended obligation remain. It was motioned by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Finkelstein to approve first reading of the ordinance to amend St. Louis Park Home Rule Charter: Table of Contents, chapters 4, 5, 6, 11, and index, and set second reading for March 21, 2005 (7 affirmative votes required). The motion passed 6-0. 7. Requests, Petitions,and Communications from the Public—None 8. Resolutions, Ordinances, Motions 8a. Resolution Supporting Reconstruction of Highway 100 and Opposing Delays in the Proposed Project Schedule. Resolution No. 05-027 Councilmember Basill stated support of the resolution with an addition in the section, "Whereas Minnesota's long-range transportation plan". It was supposed to be 2005, then it was 2010 and now they were talking 2014. They gave reasons why that should not occur. The DOT had stated that it was tied to Crosstown They needed to add that there was no legitimate reason that this was tied to the Crosstown reconstruction and no reason why this could not be completed before the Crosstown project. Councilmember Sanger supported Councilmember Basill's proposed addition. She attended the meeting where Mn/DOT officials announced the delay of the highway reconstruction project. One of the items that was brought up that they did not respond to adequately was in previous years Mn/DOT had informed St Louis Park that the expansion of Highway 100 Council Meeting Minutes -5- February 22, 2005 was the second prionty in all of the Metro area highway projects, after the pnonty given to the Crosstown/35W Interchange. Now pnonty had been downgraded and the Hwy 100 project was no longer the second pnonty. She wanted to add another bullet to the resolution saying that no credible explanation had been provided for why the previously high pnonty of the expansion of this segment of Hwy 100 had been delayed Councilmember Finkelstein also supported the resolution. The effect of having two lanes going through Golden Valley, St. Louis Park and Edina, when it was three-lanes both North and south of them, was difficult. In addition to contacting the City of Edina, they should also contact the City of Golden Valley. This resolution should be pnnted in the next issue of the Park Perspective. Everyone in the community should be informed about this delay. Councilmember Sanger noted that there was additional information about the highway issue that would be posted on the City website. Attached to that website was a listing of officials at Mn/DOT, including their Email addresses and phone numbers if residents wanted to inform them of their point of view. Mr. Harmening stated that St. Louis Park had been working with the Twin West Chamber of Commerce who was also concerned about this delay. They were forming a Highway 100 Alliance, which he proposed would include the City, the Chamber and also inviting Edina, Golden Valley and perhaps Hennepin County to make sure Mn/DOT was aware of their concerns and also to find ways to move this project up. They were planning two meetings at which time they would be asking Mn/DOT to talk with the community. This first meeting was scheduled on March 11th at 7:30 AM at the Doubletree in St. Louis Park. The Twin West Chamber of Commerce and the Highway 100 Alliance were sponsonng that meeting. They hoped to have Mn/DOT officials in attendance. They were also proposing a second meeting during the evening. The date for that meeting had not been set. Meeting information would be posted on the web site. It was motioned by Councilmember Bastll, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt Resolution No. 05-027 Supporting Reconstruction of Highway 100 and Opposing Delays in the Proposed Project Schedule including the following additional comments: • There was no legitimate reason that this was tied to the Crosstown reconstruction and no reason why this could not be completed before the Crosstown project • No credible explanation had been provided for why the previously high pnonty of the expansion of this segment of Hwy 100 had been delayed. • The resolution be printed in the next issue of the Park Perspective. Mayor Jacobs supported the resolution. Highway 100 becomes very clogged and added traffic goes onto the City streets, which is an untenable situation. It sounds like a money issue to Mn/DOT. It won't be an inexpensive project, but it was about setting priorities They were saying that Highway 100 was not as congested as other artenes and he was unsure where that would be. At one point they were second on the priority list and believed this project would be starting in the next couple of years and now it won't be started for another nine years. That will hinder the ability to redevelop St. Louis Park and do what they needed to do to stay competitive with cities and regions surrounding them. It would be difficult to manage traffic along the Highway 7 corndor, around 36th and any of the areas in St. Louis Park that were proposed for development and were being developed. That traffic would have nowhere to go and the impact worried him The motion passed 6-0. Council Meeting Minutes -6- February 22, 2005 8b. Consideration of three Resolutions relating to Trunk Highway 100 Noise Wall Construction Project No. 2005-0100. Resolution No.'s 05-028,05-029,05-030 Ms. Hagen presented the staff report. Mayor Jacobs thanked staff, the neighborhood group and everyone involved for their work to come to this resolution. Councilmember Basill thanked Ms. Hagen who worked through parking issues, nght-of- way acquisition and did an excellent job on this project. Councilmember Santa asked in light of the previous resolution, how the future widening of a portion of Highway 100 would impact the noise walls and how the noise wall had a pnonty where the widening of the road did not? Ms. Hagen responded that the Legislature required Mn/DOT to go through a process of evaluating and ranking all of the areas on major trunk highways around the State where noise walls were not in place. The East side of Highway 100 in this location ranked#2 overall and constructed in 2001 The West side was ranked 27`h. They allocated a certain amount of money each year and have now gotten to this portion. Councilmember Santa stated the other part of the question was when they hoped Highway 100 would be widened, would the noise walls need to be taken down? Ms. Hagen replied no, the proposed project ran from 36th Street up to Cedar Lake Road, which would be North of this area. It was motioned by Councilmember Basall, seconded by Councilmember Omodt, to approve the following resolutions relating to Trunk Highway 100 Noise Wall Construction, Project No. 2005-0100: • Resolution No. 05-028 authorizing acquisition of permanent easements for the construction of a noise wall for City Project no. 2005-0100 • Resolution No. 05-029 authorizing installation of"no parking" restrictions on the East side of Vernon Avenue from W. 41"Street to the southern city border- Traffic Study No. 5xx • Resolution No. 05-030 authorizing execution of a cooperative construction agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation for the installation of a noise wall on the West side of Trunk Highway 100 The motion passed 6-0. 8c. Application of Nathan and Marcy Schultz for Comprehensive Plan Amendment from Low Density Residential to Medium Density Residential and a Rezoning from R-2 to R-3 on the property at 4022 Yosemite Avenue South (moved from the consent agenda) Mr. Locke presented information about the application and what had occurred to date. Nathan Schultz, 734 Galpin Lk Rd, Excelsior, stated that he sent an Email earlier and wanted to address the issue that the City Council had with spot zoning at the pnor meeting. He drove around the neighborhood and found within 1 mile of Yosemite Council Meeting Minutes -7- February 22, 2005 Avenue there were a few apartment complexes, several duplexes and a few businesses within the single-family zoning. It did not seem to be a traditional single-family area. Most properties were on the corner or close to it. It appeared rezonings had been granted for those. With the appraisal they had provided and the other properties in the area that had been rezoned, he requested the City Council reconsider their application. Councilmember Basill stated at the last study session they talked about the Housing Summit and the goals of the city. At neighborhood association meetings, the neighbors as a whole were looking for more move-up housing. Property around the area is all zoned R3 and there are duplexes Three years ago, the neighborhood association worked with staff to have the area rezoned, requesting RI for just single-family homes. That would have put many properties out of compliance The neighborhoods were asking that there wasn't an increase of this type of housing It didn't have to do with this specific application or spot zoning, it had to do with a community wide goal. They were able to provide a lot of duplexes, townhomes, senior homes, but they were short of move-up, single-family homes If they had the opportunity to build a single-family home he would support that and keep it zoned for a single-family home. Councilmember Omodt commented that he appreciated the applicant's efforts and encouraged him to work with the City for other options. The Council approved programs recently that could help them to realize a slightly different goal for that property. The issue for him was spot zoning and he also echoed Councilmember Basill's comments about move-up housing. Mr. Schultz asked the City Council to consider changing the zoning for single-family lots with 50-60 feet. For a larger lot if they were looking for move-up homes, it may be more advantageous for the City to allow 50-foot lots and grandfather in some lots for two structures, which would allow more homes. Mayor Jacobs stated they had talked about that and it was worth more consideration. It was motioned by Councilmember Basall, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt resolution of denial for application of Nathan and Marcy Schultz for Comprehensive Plan Amendment from Low Density Residential to Medium Density Residential and a Rezoning from R-2 to R-3 on the property at 4022 Yosemite Avenue South. The motion passed 6-0. 9. Communications Mr Harmening indicated that the Home Remodeling Fair was highly successful and thanked the staff for their work. 10. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8.45 p.m. Ot.,–, it-e-4--:_,/,,,--9— ' /(10- (0...\ City " Ma C yC1rk or Clerk y